J&K flood helpline records reports of 347 missing people

The dedicated helpline centre set up by the Jammu and Kashmir government to trace people missing in the floods has so far registered reports of nearly 350 people still untraceable in the worst deluge the region has seen in more than a century.

The dedicated helpline centre set up by the Jammu and Kashmir government to trace people missing in the floods has so far registered reports of nearly 350 people still untraceable in the worst deluge the region has seen in more than a century.

"We have received 282 calls from various parts of the country and recorded reports of 347 people missing in the floods in J&K," said Amit Sharma, special secretary to J&K government, animal husbandry department.

The state government had on Tuesday setup a 24x7 dedicated helpline centre in order to trace people who went missing after the floods hit the state. The helpline through J&K Connect Centre has been established at the ground floor of the office complex of divisional commissioner at Rail Head Complex here.

The data of missing persons is shared with all police chiefs and district magistrates on the districts in J&K, besides Army and NDRF in a bid to reach out to them, Sharma said.

"In one specific case, the centre received a call about a group of 11 people and they were rescued after we forwarded the case," he said adding "it was a moment of happiness for us."

"We are even calling for the record of about 2,000 missing persons, for which calls were received by previous helpline centre setup at Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC)," he said.

The centre has come up on the advise of Prime Minister's office on the pattern adopted by Uttrakhand government during the Kedarnath tragedy.

A secretary level officer of Uttrakhand Government had come here on the direction's PMO to facilitate setting up of the centre for missing persons.